Kurt Nogan has unwittingly told North End how to stop him scoring on his return to Deepdale tomorrow.

And it’s nothing to do with who marks him or how.

The secret lies off the pitch – in the stands and on the terraces.

Nogan’s uncanny knack of returning to haunt his former clubs – he has netted five times in six matches against Burnley since he left Turf Moor – is down to the fans!

Boo and jeer him tomorrow and it’s a safe bet the Welshman will get on the scoresheet; leave him alone and he will probably draw a blank.

“The first four occasions I played for Preston against Burnley the Clarets fans jeered me and I scored,” said Cardiff’s prodigal son who opened his Bluebirds’ account last weekend against, guess who, Burnley!

Sweet

“Those goals were sweet for me. But in the fifth game they never said a word and I didn’t get one that day.

“Perhaps that was the key.”

It could well be the key tomorrow as the striker returns to North End hoping to throw a spanner in his old club’s promotion works.

Cardiff are desperate for points to escape the drop.

And Nogan must forget his deep affection for the club at the top of the table, so soon after leaving them, in pursuit of a win to rescue his new employers from the bottom four.

The chances are Deepdale will extend the hand of friendship to a player whose 21 goals last season fired them to the play-offs.

David Reeves and Steve Wilkinson have both been given a rousing reception on their return with Chesterfield.

And Nogan can probably expect the same for services rendered.

Former teammate Michael Jackson, who will have the job of ensuring Nogan doesn’t have a dream comeback just two weeks after leaving, is fully aware of the task he and his back four colleagues face tomorrow.

The two players joined North End within a fortnight of each other in March 1997 and know each other’s game inside out.

“We will have to be on our toes against Kurt,” he said.

“He has made a habit of scoring against Burnley – he got one against them last weekend – and we don’t want him doing that against us.

“We will just have to make sure we keep him quiet.”

Ironically Nogan wants Preston go up to Division One on May 6 as champions because he will be due a medal for his contribution this season.

But he will be hoping they can still achieve that with without a win tomorrow.

“I’m looking forward to this one,” he said ahead of his return to Deepdale.

“Cardiff is my home city and pulling on the Bluebirds shirt for the first time when we beat Reading was one of the proudest days of my career.

“I had some very happy times at Preston, but I’m a Cardiff City player now.

“And I will be doing all I can to make sure we stay up.

“I have always wanted to play for Cardiff.

“The fact that the fans have paid half of my fee to bring me to the club is just unbelievable. They made it possible for me.

“I can’t say how grateful I am to them for helping me come home.

“It means I owe them that little bit extra and hopefully I can repay them by scoring a few goals between now and the end of the season.

“To be honest I am having trouble believing I am with Cardiff City.

“But it has happened and now I must focus on playing my part.

“If we can remain unbeaten until the end of the season with a couple of wins on top of the draws then I’m sure we will stay up.”

Nogan netted only four times for Preston this season before being sold for £100,000 two weeks ago.

But North End will not be underestimating his ability to pop up with a goal tomorrow.

Over the three years he was at Deepdale, he always seemed to conjure up something special when it mattered most – especially against Burnley.

He scored last season when he faced another of his old clubs – Luton – and there were goals on “live” TV against Arsenal and Burnley.

And this season, with speculation increasing he was being watched by Cardiff, he knocked one in against them at Ninian Park for good measure.

David Moyes, the manager who sold Nogan to Cardiff rather than see him walk out on a Bosman free transfer at the end of the season, insists the striker’s habit of scoring against his old teams is not something North End will be losing sleep over.

“We haven’t played against Kurt, but he’s done well for us against Burnley in the past,” he said.

“To be honest it’s not something I am really concerned about and we won’t be making a big fuss about it.

Sean Gregan is OUT of tomorrow’s crucial home game with Cardiff City amid growing fears his back injury could be more serious than first thought.

Preston’s inspirational skipper went back to hospital for more X-rays yesterday and declined to comment on the findings when he returned to the club’s Springfields training camp.

But he was clearly still in pain, even walking, and must be a definite non-starter for the match which brings Kurt Nogan back to Deepdale.

Gregan battled on for more than half an hour at Wigan on Tuesday night after being kneed in the small of the back by Frenchman Jeff Peron. Eventually he was forced to hobble off six minutes from time.

Manager David Moyes would only say his captain was looking “very doubtful” for the weekend and was having extensive treatment. “He’s still very sore,” he said.

But even though Gregan has made a habit of pulling through in the past, this could be an injury too far.

North End go into tomorrow’s match against strugglers Cardiff needing a win to maintain their seven-point lead at the top of the table and heap more pressure on the chasing pack.

But the game brings striker Nogan back to Deepdale just two weeks after his £100,000 move to South Wales. And Preston will be on alert for a player who has made a nasty habit of scoring against his former clubs.

The 29-year-old netted four times in five games for North End against Burnley. And last Saturday he opened his Cardiff account with yet another goal against the Clarets.

“I’m looking forward to coming back to Preston,” he said with a smile.

Moyes reckons City will provide his table-topping side with stiff opposition despite their lowly league position – they lie fourth bottom with seven still to play.

“They are fighting to avoid relegation and that will make it very difficult,” said the boss.

“For some reason we have found these sort of games against teams in that sort of position very tough. And I don’t see tomorrow’s being any different.

“Cardiff are desperate to pick up the points and because their game in midweek was called off they have had added rest time.

“We have just come through two really tough derby games against Blackpool and Wigan.”

Moyes believes the four-point haul from those two away games in the past week could prove crucial come the end of the season and he will tell his players not to throw away all that hard work with a setback tomorrow.

“It took some doing to get four points out of those two matches and we have to make sure we make them count now by winning at home.”

With Gregan set to miss the match, Moyes could decide to push Rob Edwards into the centre of midfield as his replacement. But that will depend on the fitness of central defender Colin Murdock who picked up a thigh strain in training last Friday.

The Northern Ireland international was back jogging yesterday and he is likely to have a fitness test tomorrow.

“We don’t know if Colin is going to be fit enough yet,” said Moyes.

Preston will take the field tomorrow in high spirits after coming through a gruelling test at the JJB Stadium in midweek with flying colours.

“I think everyone feels a lot more confident after Tuesday,” said Moyes. “The result, against such a good team as Wigan, has made us all feel good.

“But we have not achieved anything yet and our job is to win more football matches.

“We need to win more because 82 points won’t be enough to get us promoted. People might say we are up, but the facts are we are NOT.

“I’m not going to say publicly what I believe will be enough. I would only be setting myself up to be shot at.